Noting that US retailers’ conversion rates on desktop computers are two times higher than on mobile, Google is working to increase mobile engagement and sales by adding deep links to apps from shopping advertisements.

“There are lots of great shopping apps out there, and we want to encourage shoppers to use them,” said the company in a blog post, adding that it is working with retailers like eBay, Flipkart and Zalando.

“This is a tremendous new opportunity for retailers and app developers to drive engagement with their shopping apps, and we’ll be expanding it to more advertisers in the coming months,” it added.

It is also testing a new feature for mobile called Purchase on Google “to help smartphone shoppers buy with ease from their favourite retailer”, becoming the latest company to adopt ‘buy buttons’.

The company said it is “still in early experiments” with a limited number of retailers such as Staples and Under Armour, and sees Purchases on Google as a step towards helping retailers drive more mobile conversions and win more customers.

“For retailers, opting in to Purchases on Google means improved mobile conversions thanks to a simplified checkout process. Participating retailers only pay for clicks on the shopping ads to the product page; all clicks and interactions on the product page are free,” the blog explained.

Earlier this month, Pinterest iOS users in the US got access to 30 million ‘buyable’ pins, while it is still working on bringing the feature to Android and desktop.

Instagram too has launched carousel ads to “give brands more flexibility in telling their stories by allowing people who view their ads to swipe left to see additional images and link to a website,” while Facebook is expanding its shoppable sponsored ads.